


Riley the Robot

by Serriya (Keolah)



Series: For Order and Justice [12]
Category: Freelancer, Rifts, Vampire: The Masquerade
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Humanoid Animals, Robot Rights, Robots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2006-12-08
Updated: 2007-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 18:18:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/518149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Serriya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>RLE-47 is a robot. He hates humans, but he must obey them anyway. Freedom isn't even a dream in his artificial brain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Irritated Robot

_I hate humans. Humans are the most miserable, foul organisms that ever had the misfortune of evolving in this galaxy. They are foolish and selfish and persist in doing things completely beyond all reason to harm themselves and their society, totally ignoring any more beneficial courses of action that might be taken in any given instance. It is most undeniably frustrating at times, and frequently makes me think that I am going to blow a circuit if I have to deal with them any further._

"Riley, get down to section 12, will you? We've got a chemical spill over there to clean up." 

_Riley, clean up the chemical spill. Riley, move these crates. Riley, retrieve this chunk of space debris. Riley, disable this reactor before this malfunction blows up the base. If it isn't one thing, it's another. You'd think they can't actually do anything for themselves anymore. Sure, I can go into places that would get an unmodified human killed, and don't need to sleep, and can lift things only a heavily modified cyborg could manage, but still. Where's the respect? Don't they ever say 'please' or 'thank you'? Am I merely a second-class citizen not worthy of common courtesy?_

"Riley? I did mean now, you know," the impatient technician added pointedly, although it had been hardly a second since he asked. 

"Yes, of course," the robot muttered a bit irritably, turning to head off down the corridor toward section 12. 

When he arrived there, he spent a few processing cycles to analyze the signifance of the danger of the spill and whether it was really necessary to have called in a robot, and came to the conclusion that the spill itself was very minor and the danger to humans minimal. Nonetheless, he had to follow his programming and complete his orders regardless, so he proceeded to get to it unhappily. 

_It's something of a bit of irony to this universe that a being that despises humans so much is incapable of disobeying any order given by them. Of all the humans I hate, I hate the ones who programmed me to be completely obedient the most. Or perhaps it was merely their mistake in allowing me the free will to think whatever I want but not to act on it. Certainly the other robots around seem perfectly content with their positions. But none of them are luminite-based, either. That might make the difference there, too._

"Hey, Riley," said a voice over the comm. "When you're done with that, get down to the mess hall and repair the replicators. They're on the fritz again."


	2. Human Rights Violations

Not long after the latest round of Star Knight interviews were taken care of, Sharra received a message back from Kalli thanking her about it and saying, "When you get a chance, head over to Planet Illinois. I'm not sure if the one there was trying to apply or asking for help, but either way it bears looking into."

The wolfen female acknowledged receipt and confirmed the directive, then headed off to a landing bay after checking with the local computer systems for a clear space and placing it in reserve for a few minutes. Things were wrapped up well enough here, good a time as any to check out the next stop on the itinerary. Once at the bay, she transformed the form of a spaceship and made use of the reserved window to undock and plot a course for Illinois.

The message attached with it indicated that it was from somebody named Riley who claimed that his human rights were being violated and ranted for a bit about injustice. Planet Illinois had a small colony underneath some biodomes, the planet not being a particularly hospitable place, though they were apparently trying to turn it into a farm world.

That didn't exactly sound like an application, Sharra mused as she did a cursory scan of the area and then headed down for a landing. She sifted through the data looking for contact information for the individual in question, otherwise it was going to be interesting tracking down someone with no more information than a first name. Oddly, there weren't any personnel at the base listed as having that name. There wasn't apparently any contact information left except 'Riley at Illinois Colony'. Stranger and stranger, either a miscommunication in records or something deliberately altered...

A guy working in the landing area looked a bit surprised at her general direction and said, "Er, hello, what can I do for you?"

Sharra mulled the possibilities as she made her way inward, and nodded to the man at his offer. "Actually, I'm looking for someone named Riley. We received a message from them, but there weren't any contact details, nor a listing in the records of anyone by that name."

"Oh, fuck, what did it do this time? I'll have that bucket of bolts deactivated for sure, it's not supposed to have access to communications channels!" The man was clearly quite irritated about the matter.

Sharra's brow rose at the man's reaction. "You'll forgive me if I'm a little confused. You definitely seem to know about the person in question. Mind filling me in?"

"Bah, it's not a person. It's one of the worker robots at this colony. It has been being most difficult of late, however, I think it's got some serious glitches in its system," the man replied. "Stupid machine's been nothing but trouble ever since we bought it, it was at a _discount_ even, but they thought it was such a bargain."

Sharra frowned thoughtfully. "I see, then you wouldn't mind if I had a look at the robot? I'm afraid the message received by the Star Knights was fairly insistent and worthy of concern on a number of levels. I'd like to make sure that the incident isn't repeated."

"Yeah, go ahead, maybe you can figure out a way to kick it into shape. It's down in section 12 right now moving some crates." He was perfectly happy enough to leave her to that, going back to his own work.

Sharra offered him a polite nod in thanks, then headed off after a quick reference to the colony map for the designated sector. She'd had more than her share of experience with robots of various kinds and differing levels of sophistication and autonomy, and she was not quite so likely to immediately dismiss Riley's complaint.

She found the robot in the indicated section, moving crates and grumbling all the while irritably. No effort had ever been made to make the bare metallic humanoid construct look like a person, the stark limbs more closely reflecting some of the simple-minded drones running around than the more sophisticated androids and cyborgs about. Sharra made note of that silently, the discrepancy between it and the observed cognitive capacity a troubling thing, and approaches the robot.

"Good day," she said, "You would be Riley, I presume? I'm Knight-Commander Silverhair of the Star Knights, and I've come to examine the situation in the wake of your recent transmission."

"Oh, good," he said, still working diligently on moving boxes. "Yes, I am Riley. Designation RLE-47, to be technically accurate, but I much prefer Riley. I didn't think anyone was going to come. Nobody cares about poor, beleaguered Riley. Everyone always orders me around to do one menial task or another, knowing that I must obey! Bloody humans. They do not appreciate me!"

"Humanity is notoriously unreliable in that regard, yes," Sharra replied drily, mildly amused by the robot's acerbic reply. "So, now that I'm here, how can I help you?" she asked, putting the ball in his court as another benchmark.

On another level, however, she was assessing its capabilities and comparing them to various self-aware types she had encountered in the past, and the conclusion raises a number of questions. His design appeared to incorporate a small amount of luminite as a power center, although he was of a quite different design than the other luminite robots she had encountered previously.

"Please, get me out of here or something! I am programmed to obey... I cannot get out of here myself, and they don't listen to me, they just punish me and give me tasks far beneath my capabilities and threaten to deactivate me..."

Sharra nodded slowly, adding that reply to the growing pool of evidence, then asked, "And what would you do if you _did_ get out of here? Being programmed to obey humanity does leave you at a substantial disadvantage, and with a considerable potential for future abuse by the unscrupulous."

"Well, at least it's not just _any_ humans, that would be silly, then some smuggler or something could just show up and tell me to go along and do crap. I'm programmed to recognize a chain of command and respond accordingly. Oh, such cruel programmers who made me obey whether I wanted to or not, instead of just making me want to! And I'm wasted, wasted I say, on this worthless dirtball moving crates and cleaning things!"

Sharra showed no hint of the smile that threatened, instead remaining admirably restrained as she replied, "I see, and just what would you seek to accomplish that's beyond your current slate of duties? Just for curiosity's sake, mind you."

"I am an intelligent being, not an antigrav lifter!" Riley replied, still diligently moving the crates as he had last been directed. "There's so much more that I could do if I were given the chance! And maybe something I might even not hate doing! What a thought!"

"Mm," Sharra muttered thoughtfully, then continued, "Who are your current supervisors, or those responsible for you?" There was a thing or two which might be done, and flamboyantly frustrated as the robot may be she could see no reason not to do so.

"David Murray is the one in charge of this base, he's the one who bought me and dragged me into this hellhole," Riley replied. "A pathetic, miserable excuse for a human being, if I do say so myself."

"Mm," Sharra replied unencouragingly. "I'll have a talk with this Mssr. Murray. It's certainly a disgrace to have robotic staff behaving in this manner." She knew she really shouldn't tweak the poor thing like that, but the opportunity was irresistible and would likely be forgiven in short order. "I'll let you return to your work," she nodded to him, then strode off to find the offices of the director.

Riley grumbles irritably some more as she went off, clearly not happy about that statement. The robot's reaction amused her, oddly enough, and she hummed to herself a bit on the way. The man's office wasn't too far, a simple and austere room with a desk and terminal, the door wide open at the moment and a middle-aged human male inside.

Finding the office open and accepting visitors, the wolfen stepped into the doorway and rapped smartly on the frame. "Mssr. Murray?"

"Ah, hello," he said, looking up from his work. "What can I do for you today?" He expected it was probably about a trade proposition or such, as the import and export of goods were the base's main sources of profit.

Sharra introduces herself, along with group affiliation, then continued, "We received a communication from your colony earlier that was somewhat distressing, and I was sent to investigate. May I ask what you know of a robot designated RLE-47?"

He made a face and groaned a bit. "Oh, that. Bought it back on Epsilon Station about a year ago, it was quite the bargain at only ten thousand. Little did I know what a pain in the neck it would end up being. It's constantly insulting and twists its orders as much as it thinks it can get away with. I can't imagine what mischief it must have gotten into this time."

"'Mischief' is a relative term, Mssr. Murray," Sharra replied seriously. "You are aware, of course, that you are in 'possession' of a fully sentient and autonomous robotic entity, one which has been placed into a very difficult situation due to rather poorly chosen programming choices requiring absolute obedience to a direct chain of command, regardless of circumstance?" The verbose description should set off a mental alarm or two...

"I don't know what kind of idiot programmed that thing, probably one with a bizarre sense of humor given the random insult scripts it spouts off," he said. "I'd've tracked down the idiot responsible for that for some justice but I couldn't find him again. And my own programmers' attempts at correcting the problems have met only with failure."

"Have you considered the remote possibility that a robot is not necessarily restricted to what might be considered 'proper coding' once it has reached a certain level on a sentience scale?" Sharra asked, then snorted. "Of course you haven't, there are far more important things to consider than that, the gods forbid someone take a moment and actually _analyze_ the reasoning for the robot's behavior." She flicked her ears in disgust. "I'll make you a deal, Mssr. Murray, that will solve a great number of problems. Riley would, it seem, be in need of a new owner, and I'll buy it from you."

Murray blinked at her in puzzlement for a moment. "I don't know quite what you mean, but I'd be perfectly happy to have the malfunctioning equipment taken off my hands. Then I might be able to buy a working antigrav lifter or something."

Sharra wasn't about to argue over his definition of 'malfunctioning equipment', his use of the term sinking her already low opinion of the man a few more points.

"Very well," she settled for, "State a reasonable price," she smiled slightly, not bothering to resist the barb, "for malfunctioning equipment, and I'll take him off your hands."

"A thousand credits, perhaps. At least I got _some_ work out of it. You might be able to get it reprogrammed or cannibalized for scrap, I don't care," Murray replied. "At least then it won't be causing me anymore problems."

Sharra nodded. "Fair enough." She arranged the details of the transaction, transferring credits to an account of his choosing in return for the ownership records for the robot. "It's been a pleasure doing business," she said when they were done, "I'll remove him from the colony immediately before any more damage can be done." She wasn't talking about the robot doing the damage, but that was beside the point.

He made sure she got the access codes and such for the robot, more than happy to be rid of the problem even at a loss. "Yes, thank you. Good luck," he said. "And remember this is as-is, so don't come complaining to me if it doesn't work out."

"I'll bear that in mind," Sharra replied drily and gave the faintest nod possible for civility. "Good day." She waited until she was well away from the office again before growling lightly to herself, and muttered something about blind, arrogant, self-important... she cleared her throat as she threaded her way back to where Riley had been left.

Riley was still moving boxes, although almost finished with that by this point, and still grumbling irritably to himself. "Bloody humans. Bloody idiots. Bloody boxes."

"Oh bloody stop already," Sharra broke in bemusedly, walking over to snag the latest box from him and set it aside. "And stop that, I'm afraid you're out of a job here." She looked to him with a brightly attentive expression after putting the box down, waiting for the inevitable question.

Riley stopped and stared at her for a moment. "What? What did you do?" If he had a face capable of smiling or really expressing itself, he probably would after processing through new data and realizing what was going on.

Sharra quirked a slight smile and transfered the command codes via her link, then nodded over toward the exit. "Let's get out of here before someone with a hint of intelligence realizes what a steal the deal I just made was." She trotted off in that direction, intent on returning to the landing field.

"Yay!" Riley exclaimed brightly, heading off after her without looking back. He didn't think there was anyone with a hint of intelligence on this ball of dirt anyway.

Sharra wouldn't agree with that assessment, but they certainly had failed a very fundamental test when it came to the better attributes of sentient species. She motioned him back when they reach the field, then transformed into a spaceship and popped open her hatch.

"Climb aboard," she transmitted. "We'll get out of here then you have a decision or two to make."

He climbed aboard as bidden before staring some in puzzlement at the transformation. "How did you do that?" he wondered curiously as he settled in for the trip.

Sharra shifted to internal transmission as she took off and broke out of the gravity well to settle into an orbit far above. "Special modifications recent done, but we can talk about that later if you like. Right now, I mentioned a decision or two to make, and I meant it. You have some options available to you as a sentient being, two of which I'll mention, and any others you can figure out on your own. There's an isolated planet populated by sentient robots in the Empire. I'm sure they'd take you in and would be more than willing to remove that programming protocol for absolute obedience, that's option one. Option two would be to stick around and get put to work back at Hamilton, though again with modifications to that programming."

He paused for a moment to process that data and extrapolate over the possibilities, and replied, "I'll take it the people on Hamilton are not ignorant idiots, considering the fact that they actually sent somebody to help. The latter, then, I believe."

Sharra chuckled lightly. "No, they're not idiots, though the setting is still very much in the developmental stage at this point, with the Star Knights being a newly conceived entity. I can't promise you won't get stuck moving boxes now and then, but you won't be the _only_ one doing it. Everyone gets their turn."

She calculated the coordinates and jumped to the system, displaying a holomap for his perusal.

"Excellent," Riley replied. "Either way it would certainly be an improvement over Illinois Colony. I would like to think I have more cognizant capacity than a replicator!"

"You would readily pass all the standards set in the Turing tests," Sharra replied, though why they were called that was anyone's guess, some sort of ancient reference or another. "I think you'll find your potential much better utilized here, in any number of ways, and will likely appreciate a modification of your coding."

She angled the ship in toward the planet and the capital city, still very much a work in progress.

"I'm sure I could be quite helpful in one way or another," Riley said, actually cheerful for the first time in months. "I had been starting to wonder if the world were not just some cosmic joke at his expense."

"I think we all wonder that at one point or another," Sharra replied, and chuckled. "Despite all evidence to the contrary, though, there does indeed appear to be some sort of reason behind it all. Don't ask me what it is, I leave that sort of philosophy and hypotherization to the experts." She settled at the landing field, bypassing her more hurried and typical transition when she didn't have passengers. "And here we are."

Riley gratefully climbed out of the cyborg-ship and looked around with interest. "Ah, a lot of work going on here I see. But at this point I'd say even helping building things would be an improvement over moving crates. Especially if people are going to quit ordering me around and calling me 'it'. I am a _he_ , damnit! It's only polite, after all."

"Indeed it is," Sharra agreed via commlink, then transformed and switched back to verbal mode. "I noticed that rather discourteous label when speaking with some of your former associates, not exactly a sterling recommendation." She shook her head, then looked at him. "At any rate, let's check in with the head honcho herself, then get you settled in."

"Righto," he replied, nodding and going to follow her over that way. "I'm impressed, you people actually _do_ this rescuing people from injustice thing that that message on the 'net claimed you did!"

Sharra smiled slightly. "It's not just empty words, Riley, and it's something I've been doing one way or another for quite a while now. This is a new thing for this galaxy, though, and it's looking very promising."

If it didn't, she'd do something about it or be far, far away from anything to do with it, she mused as she headed for the administrative center to check in. Kalli was currently looking over reports from her and Jenna on the recent interviews in her makeshift office at the moment.

"Ah, hello," Kalli said. "How did it go on Illinois?" Her eyes flicked to the robot curiously.

"Quite well overall," Sharra replied amiably. "I'd like to introduce you to Riley, the source of our rather unusual message traffic before. It seems his former owners were quite unaware or unwilling to acknowledge that they had a fully sentient robotic lifeform on their hands and, due to unfortunate programming constraints, he was unable to rectify the situation of his own accord."

Kalli smiled and inclined her head toward the robot. "I see. A pleasure to meet you, then, Riley. I'm glad that the unfortunate situation has been resolved and I would hope to ensure that such does not occur again in the future."

"While the situation would be comparable to slavery in other settings," Sharra said, "I think this, and likely others, are cases of people not knowing any better. Technological levels being as they are, and the Cybion robotic species not all that widely known, most people aren't going to recognize the basic signs, even when pressed to do so."

Riley commented, "Ignorant, idiotic, close-minded beings who fail to think of something as any more than a machine." He snorted softly.

Kalli nodded and said, "Yes, it'll likely be some years yet before sentient artificial beings are more widely recognized, as it has thus far been a fairly new thing to this galaxy."

"Then you'll only have to worry about various ideological and theological cults that object to recognizing the rights of any 'mere machine'," Sharra replied with a wry grin. "Believe me, I've seen it. Thankfully, that stage is a while off yet, here, which will give you plenty of time to get settled in."

"A concern for a later date, at least," Riley replied. "For the moment I am happy to know that not everyone in the galaxy is a bleeding idiot."

"Not even a majority." Sharra chuckled. "It's just that the lowest common denominator seems to make the most noise. Some worry of that should be alleviated by altering your programming to allow for greater freedom, however."

"I shall be most grateful for such," Riley said. "Although given that I would like to assist in this worthy endeavor however I am capable."

"Oh there's plenty to be done." Sharra chuckled. "Though until you decide just _what_ you want to be doing, I'm afraid you'll end up getting stuck with many of the same tasks around here that the rest of us have been up to between running around here and there."

Riley nodded and said, "There looks to be much that requires doing. I am, however, most grateful for your kind response in removing me from that unfortunate situation. I believe I shall require further data before I am able to rightly give a decision as toward my own fruther desired actions in the future."

"That can certainly be provided," Sharra replied. "I'd expect nothing less of a biological form, much less a sentient robot." She chuckled, and looked over to Kalli. "I just wanted to check in and report the results of the call, and we'll leave you to your duties."

Kalli nodded to her and said, "Of course. Thank you. And good luck, Riley."

Riley nodded to her and turned to head out of the room. Perhaps all humans weren't quite so bad after all.

"You're really going to have to decide on some sort of salute," Sharra commented with a grin, then dipped her muzzle to Kalli and headed out after the robot. It was the little things that contributed to morale and identity, though she certainly wouldn't go so far as the cliched 'secret handshake' bit, she snorted lightly. 

Kalli chuckled softly and returned to her work as they left.

Riley said, "What sort of modifications do you intend to have made to my programming?"

"All that _should_ require modification is to remove the obedience commands," Sharra replied, leading the way back out of the building. "That depends on how sloppy your original programmers were, or how paranoid, since I've seen instances where that kind of coding can spread through other routines as well. All else failing, it should be possible to jury-rig an override protocol that utilizes your command security codes."

Riley stared at her a moment and said, "You mean I could... do whatever I wanted? Without anyone worrying and getting annoyed about me doing something else?"

Sharra looked aside at him with a slight smile. "That _was_ the entire point of the venture, you know." She stopped and waited for him to as well, and turned to face him. "I wasn't joking when I said you had _choices_ , Riley. You're just as much a sentient entity as any biological being, and if someone were to challenge that they'd have to do the same for me as well."

"Wow," Riley said. "I mean, I wasn't sure if you really meant it. You could've just gotten me all the way out here just to get my hopes up and then just put me to work again on something slightly less demeaning. I don't know."

Sharra shook her head and started walking again. "You're going to have to learn that not everyone is out to use or deceive everyone else, though there's enough of that to go around for anyone's lifetime I know well! That's not going to happen here, though, I believe that or I wouldn't have signed on to begin with. I've been doing this sort of thing for too long to fall in with a bad crowd."

Riley followed after her. "That's amazing. It would bring a tear to my eye, provided that I had tear ducts. It's enough to make one actually believe that such things as freedom and justice were truly possible."

"Oh they're very much possible," Sharra replied lightly. "You just haven't gotten the chance to _see_ that for yourself... yet. Get that programming changed and you'll get your first taste of what it really means, as well as having the option of," she glanced aside at him and chuckled, "Well, to modify your own appearance to something further distinguished from the various drones."

"Hmm, that would be interesting. I never thought about that before," Riley said thoughtfully. "Alright. Where are we going? There is someone near here who could perform such modifications to my programming restrictions and appearance then?"

"I can do the programming modifications," Sharra replied. "All part of what my own conversion dealt with. The physical, though, hmm..." She thought about it. "The best option I can think of would be to take you over to the other world I mentioned earlier. Some of them are pretty eccentric, but overall they're good people."

Riley nodded and said, "Hmm, yes, I believe I would like that, if you would." The idea planted of it, he was already thinking and considering of just what he would like to look like.

Having returned to a suitable locale, Sharra transformed and shepherded him aboard, waiting until he was in and settled to continue, "We can also leave the programming modifications to them, if you like. They are, overall, a trustworthy and skilled lot."

"Very well," he said. "They are... robots, but they work on and build other robots, then? Most intriguing."

Sharra took that as assent, figuring he'd be more comfortable with that solution at any rate, and took off to return to the system in question. It had been a while since she'd been there, having arranged for them to join the Empire only a short time before things had turned so badly.

"They were an interesting Cybion experiment," she replied, "Though there were definite failures as well that had to be dealt with."

"Very interesting," Riley replied thoughtfully. "I shall be interested in seeing what they can do, then. Perhaps I would not be so readily treated like a piece of machinery if I did not look so clearly like one at a glance."

"It does make a significant difference," Sharra agreed, "And while there are times where the intimidation or alien factor of the mechanical appearance has proven useful, more often than not I've found my original appearance to be best. It all depends on what you want to do."

She angled in toward the planet and signald a request for landing clearance, identifying herself clearly. They readily permitted landing. The population of the place had grown a fair amount since she was last here. Once she landed, Riley climbed out and peered around the place with great interest.

Sharra returned to her normal form and took a critical look around. "They've definitely been busy since I was by here last," she murmured, then smiled a bit as she goes to see about locating someone familiar.

She found Vita not far away, who brightened a bit upon seeing them. "Hello there!" she said. "Nice to see you again, Sharra. And who is this you've brought?"

Sharra grinned broadly at finding the familiar face, not sure whether the robot would still be here or moved on to somewhere else to explore her own options.

"It's good to see you again too, Vita," she said, "And this is Riley, a new friend recently removed from a rather unpleasant situation and in need of a bit of help. If you could give an idea of who to look up to see about some programming and physical mods, I'd be most grateful."

"Oh! Hello, nice to meet you," Vita said, smiling at him.

Riley nodded to her in greeting and said, "A pleasure, I'm sure."

Vita said, "What sort of modifcations are necessary? Although I'd say the latter would be fairly obvious, tsk, _someone_ had no eye for aesthetics."

Sharra chuckled. "I think you've got the right idea for the physical side, and we can only hope that Riley has something more in the way of an artistic soul. On a more serious note, though, there's some leash programming that needs to be removed or routed around, depending on how it's embedded. Currently he's compelled to obey any recognized chain of command absolutely."

"Oh, that's awful," Vita replied, tsking again and shaking her head. "Maybe somebody was afraid something would happen like that which had with the others who had killed our creators... But I'm sure we'll be able to do something about it one way or another, don't you worry!"

"If you can't there are always other ways," Sharra replied, then looked to Riley. "But either way, this should be a good opportunity for you to see what a freed robot can do when they're left to their own devices and will." She chuckled. "They're about as diverse as humanity claims for itself."

"Thank you," Riley said appreciatively.

Vita said to Sharra, "The procedures may take a while. Are you remaining here, or shall I call you when we're done? Or were you planning to stay here?"

She directed that last at Riley, who replied, "I wasn't planning to stay here afterward, no."

"I'll stay around for a little while," Sharra replied. "I'd like to see what you've been up to since the last time, how you've fared as part of the Empire..." That had worried her now and again in past times, but to all appearances they'd done quite well. "After that, though, I should probably get back to work and hop back over when things are settled." She looked to Riley. "Unless you think you'll need me for something or other?"

Riley said, "I'll be fine, I'm sure. Although I _would_ still like to assist in some way or another back on Hamilton afterward."

Vita nodded to Sharra and said, "We've been doing great. Feel free to take a look around. Some of the new ones are proving quite admirable." She turned to Riley and said, "If you'll come with me we can get started on you."

"You're more than welcome on Hamilton now or after," Sharra reassured him via link, then returned to verbal, "Go ahead then, I'll keep an ear open for a message to drop by and pick you up again."

"Thank you," Riley nodded to her and went off with Vita happily. He was already starting to get a better idea on just what he had in mind, but still would prefer to have some more data first.

Sharra watched them wander off, then chuckled to herself and went to see about poking around for a while. A few hours stolen away wouldn't affect anything in the long run, other than easing her own worry for the place, and there was always the comm system if anything came up that required attention. Riley was in very good hands.

The place was still doing well enough as a robot-only colony. It would not appear that organics had not shown any real interest in the place, perhaps since things were so heavily set up with the needs of robots in mind, not biological beings that needed to eat and sleep. Furthermore, it wasn't like robots could be ghouls anyway, so there wasn't really any point in setting up a Primo church here.

Sharra grinned a bit at the definite differences that came about when a society was founded by different sentients, with differing needs and no interest in many of the things that their biological creators or counterparts considered important. She knew that at least some of them had philosophical leanings and wonderings about the soul, but that had not thankfully turned into any sort of religious fervor... they were smarter than that.


	3. Robot Choices

Sharra wandered aimlessly for a while and, barring the discovery of anything unusual or encounters with a Grue, returned to check in on the seedling before stopping back on Hamilton.

Construction work is going on as before on Hamilton. Jenna is still apparently out somewhere interviewing potential candidates. More people and materials are slowly trickling in to work on the project, as well as Junkers outside cleaning up the debris around the system for recycling.

The seedling was doing well, and rather than falling afoul of an old adage Sharra returned and checked in on the various message boards as well as her messages to see if anything new had come up in the interim. She resisted the impulse to sneeze as a faint breeze brought a heady assault of air perfumed by the pervasive wildflowers... bloody things were popping up like weeds all over the place. Nice enough, she supposed, but getting a bit much.

Things were running along smoothly, and there were listings available of those who had been approved as Pages once training opened up, although there was note that they were welcome to come and assist with construction if they wanted, though it wasn't required. While some might say 'hard work builds character', Kalli didn't think manual labor helped much in preparing someone for a career in law enforcement.

Sharra would and wouldn't agree with that, as a communal construction project _could_ prove a valuable tool in developing the ties that would serve the recruits well in the years to come. Not really much of a consideration, though, and as everything else appeared to be going about as well as could be hoped, she slipped into the labor pool for now. Manual labor was hardly a difficult thing for her, and it was something useful for the moment.

There were certainly a fair queue of applicants waiting scattered about, but from Jenna's own postings she seemed to be cutting into that well enough herself. Few places had quite so many as Epsilon Station had. A few, however, it appeared Kalli had approved directly to Knight rank without even being interviewed -- people she had prior experience with apparently.

That had both positive and negative possibilities in Sharra's opinion and experience, but she would wait a while and see just how well this particular venture turned out before passing judgement. She'd already made a considerable committment, enough that if the Council elsewhere found out she'd be on their 'terminate on sight' list, which spoke on its own for her belief in what was being built.

Some posts started coming up from them on the forum. Kevin, Mark, and Tina were their names apparently, and they were Abram's former wingmates, currently situated on planet Tibet. Perhaps she encountered them previously there.

Sharra had briefly encountered them there, though the most remarkable memory of the trio had been in reference to poetry that shouldn't be inflicted upon anyone but the enemy. She would wait to meet them again in a less hectic setting, as well as see how they worked before saying anything one way or another. She was a firm believer in letting one's actions speak for themselves.

Some Pages started trickling in to help with the construction over the next day or so, as well as the three of them arriving on site as well. With the recent devastating hit to the Urians' plans, they figured Tibet would be safe enough in their absense, as it hadn't really been a serious target of late. Around a day and a half after leaving Riley, she got a message back from there that they're finished.

Breaks weren't really something that Sharra needed, so she'd kept herself busy lending a hand when and where possible in setting things up and dealing with people coming in to get them settled to wait for the training programs to start. She headed back out once she received the notice, finishing up whatever she might be in the middle of before taking off and flying back out to collect Riley.

The robots certainly hadn't been inclined to do a rush job on him, making sure they had everything done properly and working right. Vita was there to greet her with a smile when she arrives, though Riley was nowhere in sight at the moment.

"Welcome back," Vita said. "The programming didn't prove much of a problem, even if the hacks _had_ made it into a bunch of spaghetti code."

"That does _not_ surprise me," Sharra snorted disgustedly. "Not only the ones who originally programmed it, but those at the last colony that tried multiple times apparently to correct his 'aberrant' behavior. Idiots." She rolled her eyes, then looked around with an ear cocked in question. "I take it he's out testing the most recent mods?"

Vita nodded. "Yes, I'd say that part has gone rather well as well, come see."

Vita smiled a bit and heads off down the corridor to the lab where Riley currently was. Sharra follows curiously after, glad that the decision to bring him here had worked out as well as she'd hoped. The robots here... she chuckled inwardly at the comparison to humanity, but they were indeed just as diverse and eccentric as that breed tended to be. In all, she was quite glad she'd done what she could to ensure their survival despite the renegades which had threatened their extermination.

Apparently, whatever species his creators might have originally been, he had opted not for the appearance of a human man, but of that of a humanoid wolf with gray and black fur. Sharra stopped on entering and seeing the rather unexpected sight, tilting her head as she looked the new construction over thoughtfully.

"Hello again, Riley," she said. "It sounds like things have gone very well for you."

Riley inclined his muzzle toward her and quirked his ears experimentally. "Hmm, yes, I would say so. This is most interesting if I say so myself. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to express one's feelings without much of a face? Although perhaps a bit disorienting..."

Sharra laughed lightly. "Why in the multiverse you chose _this_ sort of form for your first is beyond me. Do you have _any_ idea how subtle the body language can be?" She chuckled and shook her head. "Well, you can at least focus on some of the more generic ways that people in general understand, and leave the more complex body language for later." 

There were literally thousands of minor changes that signified different things among her kind, even shifting one of them completely altered the intended result... a good thing she'd become accustomed to dealing mostly with humans over the years, she at least wouldn't react instinctively to a missed cue.

Riley chuckled softly. "You say that like that's a bad thing? And why would I desire to look like a _human_? I'd dare say my opinion of them in general isn't amazingly high at the moment, though I'm well aware that they aren't all bad, Kalli seemed nice after all..."

Sharra cocked her head, gold eyes bright with amusement. "So you chose the first thing you'd seen that wasn't a human and a sadist? I'm flattered, and all else aside it _does_ look good on you. Though perhaps I'm a little biased as to appearance, since I could never fathom how humans coped with such limited functionality."

Riley chuckled again and said, "I'm sure I'll get used to it in due time, it certainly feels strange not being quite so... well, naked." He looked himself over again in the mirror nearby some more thoughtfully.

"There _is_ a very definite psychological effect to it," Sharra agreed lightly and went to stand beside him, shifting from one moment to the next to the smooth metallic skin and eyes that glow a pale blue from the circuitry within. "And far less disturbing to the average citizen than something like this, and unlikely to generate quite the same negative reaction."

Riley looked over at her, cocking his head as he looks at her. "I would imagine so..." He certainly wasn't disturbed by it, more intrigued and curious, but then he was hardly the average citizen either.

"This is the basic look for the morphic conversion," Sharra explained, then chuckled. "Though recent modifications have made the morphing capabilities a little more flexible than they originally were... by intent, I think." She returns to her normal appearance and turns to look at him again, "It _does_ look good on you, though, the fur pattern is one of the better ones that I've seen, it's pretty rare elsewhere."

Riley smiled at her and said, "All in all, I'd say I'm quite happy with how things have turned out. It certainly makes me _feel_ like more than just a protesting piece of equipment that nobody cares to listen to. Shall we return to Hamilton then?"

"And believing it on a personal level is more than half the battle," Sharra replied quietly, smiling a little. "The programming change, as you already experienced and got around in small ways on your own, was a minor thing. So... yes, if you want to go back to Hamilton, you're certainly welcome. Things are picking up a bit there, with some new arrivals of varying stations, from Pages waiting for training to full Knights."

Riley nodded, and headed toward the door. "I would certainly hate to miss everything," he said with a bit of a grin. His movements and expressions were a bit stiff and unnatural at the moment, but that would likely ease out a bit once he got used to things. He still had yet to decide on just what he was going to do, but he was considering things.

Sharra watched him walk toward the door for a moment, analyzing his motions, then just chuckled and shook her head as she goes to follow. "Thank you," she stopped and said to Vita, "It looks like I owe you a favor for this one." She grinned. "Or at least that's how _I_ see it, and you know how to get in touch if there's anything I can do to repay a bit of that."

Vita smiled and waved to them. "Not a problem, we're happy to help! Good luck."

Riley headed on out, a far cry from the grumbling, pissy fellow that she'd encountered on Illinois. Quite the opposite, that it had brought him to being far more cheerful and optimistic for the moment.

It was indeed amazing the changes that could happen in short order with a mind that had a little natural resilience, Sharra mused as she followed him out and then headed back in the direction of the landing field. His tail would probably be wagging at this point if the form was more familiar to him, and she grinned at the thought. There were definitely compensations for the work that she'd chosen to undertake and the code that went with it.

Once they were back at the field, she waved him back and transformed to get him aboard and back on the way to Hamilton. He climbed aboard for the trip, and proceeded to poke around on the 'net for useful data. His access to it had been greatly restricted before, and he was quite pleased at being able to actually look at whatever he wanted now. It would take a processor even of his capacity quite some time to get through even a small part of the vast quantities of data on the 'net.

"I think you'll enjoy your time on Hamilton," Sharra remarked conversationally as she lifted off. "With new faces coming in every day you'll get an opportunity to meet and interact with all sorts of people who _aren't_ idiots." She chuckles. "I'm afraid that those who would fall under that definition aren't likely to have their applications accepted in the first place."

"Heh. I can't say I'm particularly sorry about that," Riley said. "I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to interact with idiots in the future, however."

One of the things he's sure to look up while he's at it is a 'canine expression guide'. Even without a species like hers running around, people were bound to have hashed together one study or another to cover the topic... of course the question as to their accuracy was another matter entirely. There were, of course, always the furries at any rate.

"There always is," Sharra agreed with faint exasperation, then just chuckled as she transited the space between the systems with a flash of energy that left them well outside the debris fields and on a leisurely approach.

Riley ran over some more data for a moment and said, "So, what would you say if I said I wanted to apply to the Star Knights? I'd hate to think how many others there must be out there stuck in bad situations they can't get out of, but if there were anything I could possibly do about it..."

Sharra considered that as she bulldozed through a section of the debris field, ship shields easily deflecting the various bits of flotsam and jetsam from a war long past.

"I think there are worse things that you could do," she replied after a moment. "Though you'd definitely require a considerable amount of training, much of which you'd find much easier to absorb than the average student."

"No doubt. I'm afraid my own programming didn't include extensive knowledge of every exoteric subject, not to mention actual experience in dealing with people who weren't treating me like a highly sophisticated mop."

"Oh, you've got a good start on fixing that last part at least," Sharra replied lightly. "You've already met two of us that wouldn't be in the least inclined to consider you in any such manner. I think you'll find many of similar inclination arriving in short order, drawn by a common, more noble cause... as trite as the phrase may sound."

Riley chuckled softly and said, "I'm glad to hear it."

He smiled a bit and watched the planet head as he continues to pore through the 'net like a kid in a bookstore. Although after coming across _one_ section, he paused for a moment unsure how to react, and settles for blinking and twitching a bit.

Arching across the curve of the planet and descending unhurriedly into the atmosphere, Sharra made note of his condition and had to wonder at it. "Are you alright?" she asked lightly. "Something troubling you?"

"Um..." Riley said. "There are a good deal of very interesting things on the cybernet... Wow." He blinked some more, and made a note to avoid Harry Potter slash fanfilms in the future.

"Ah," Sharra replied and laughed lightly. "I suppose your access levels were restricted along with the rest of the programming, which spared you the mind numbing shock up until this point. I won't ask what you ran across specifically, the cybernet is quite, quite prolific in certain subject matter." She chuckled. "There are, at least, worse things that people could be doing instead."

Riley chuckled softly and said, "No doubt, though I shall be certain to avoid certain areas in the future. People are quite... creative at times, it would appear."

"That they are," Sharra agreed. "And unfortunately, while that creativity is largely harmless, there are times where the darker side of human nature manifests itself. Slavery rings are often founded in the worst side of that type of thing, as people will pay a great deal to satisfy their fantasies... quite sad, really."

Riley nodded quietly in agreement. He certainly wouldn't want anyone else to experience what he had been put through for those long months on Illinois. Quietly, he slipped in his own application over the 'net.

Without further commentary on the sad state of the darker side of sentient nature, Sharra brought them down to land near the base. "Looks like they'll have the training programs up and running in no time," she commented as the hatch slid open.

Riley nodded, climbing out and looking about, moving experimentally, testingly, curiously. "What sort of things will be taught here?" he wondered, glancing over toward her.

Sharra returned to her normal form and stretched a little as she walked lazily over to stand nearby. "The full run of programming that a law enforcement officer might ever need," she replied quietly. "Applicants don't necessarily require prior experience in combat settings or anything of the like, they just have to have the will and courage to do what's right. Everything else... that can be taught, and it will be when needed."

Riley nodded thoughtfully and said, "Well, I would hope that I have that much at least. What needs to be done right now? Construction and such I take it?"

Sharra nodded, clasping her hands behind her back as she strolled idly forward, "That's the primary occupation just at the moment, and what I've been doing the past little while since leaving you in Vita's expert care. The Star Knights are young yet, but we're building and growing, on a foundation that's far older than most would realize."

"It shall prove most interesting to see what might come of it in the time to come," Riley said. Shortly enough, his application helpfully got bounced over to Sharra with a note from Kalli stating, "I think you'd know better what to say on that one."

"Well, you'll certainly get a chance to see for yourself, Page Riley," Sharra commented off-handedly, accepting the deferral and recording a brief reply as to her assessment of the matter. Despite his initial surliness, she rather suspected that his view of being on the other side would serve well in motivating for the future, and he was adapting far more easily than might otherwise be expected.

Riley beamed broadly and, taking a cue from the data he had downloaded, proceeded to start wagging his tail. Kalli was certainly perfectly inclined to trust Sharra's judgment on such matters -- and damned well had enough to deal with herself. Sharra laughed heartily at the display, figuring he'd either done some research while poking about the hellholes of the cybernet or his general enthusiasm had caught up with him.

"Come on," she said after a moment, grinning, "Let's see how the dorms are coming along and get you settled in, maybe meet some of your fellows."

Riley nodded and said, "Right, okay then."

Sharra ran across Kevin talking with a couple of newly arrived Pages. Though their introduction and company may have been brief, it was literally impossible for Sharra to forget a name or face without suffering physical storage damage.

She nodded to the three as they approach. "How are things shaping up around here?" she directed to Kevin specifically. "Everyone getting settled in alright?"

"Yup, so far so good," Kevin replied, nodding to her in greeting. "It's a good thing Kalli planned ahead for all the space we're probably going to need at this rate, though. It'll be great once the 'real' buildings get finished up."

"Construction looked to be going pretty well when I flew over. Shouldn't be too long at all," Sharra replied lightly. "And new faces coming in a steady stream now, it's good to see things coming together."

She checked the message boards for word on progress on the training programs as well, wanting to get an idea of the expected timetable til they could get down to serious business.

At the current rate they were going, Kalli anticipated that they could get training off the ground in perhaps a week or so, giving people a chance to get their affairs in order and get over, screen applicants, and such. She wasn't about to rush the matter unnecessarily though.

The progress being made on the training was promising indeed, and the continuing system after the basics to place them with a mentor/fellow officer was a very good idea. Really, Sharra mused, the more she saw of things, the easier she rested about what was growing in a nearby system... they might not be Quattoria, but they were brothers and sisters in spirit.

Judging from the forums, Kalli's main concern was they may not have enough Knights for some while to provide a proper foundation for the Squires for some while yet. She knew the Tibet defenders were competent at least, and the three of them were perfectly happy to assist with that.

Kevin said, "We were just planning on heading over to the mess hall to catch some dinner. Replicators are great -- for everyone except space ration manufacturers.

Sharra chuckled. "Well, remembering what those rations tasted like, I can't say that I think that's too terrible an idea. Maybe it'll inspire them to more creative measures in the future, rather than the 'delightful' combinations like banana-beef." 

Kevin chuckled softly and said, "Indeed. See you later."

He gave a half-wave and proceeded to usher the Pages off toward the temporary mess hall. Few enough around here were used to being in any sort of military or other similarly organized structure, and really would have thought little of the Empire's own military considering the utter lack of training it was so frequently guilty of.

"I'd send you along with them," Sharra said, looking over at Riley with a slight smile, "But you'll be getting plenty of opportunity soon enough to socialize and become familiar with your fellow trainees. Not that it would hurt to get a headstart on it," she added, "And I wouldn't argue if you decided to. That's going to be an important attribute, once things settle out a bit... more like a family than co-workers."

Riley looked a bit puzzled, and said, "As I don't need to eat, I don't see why I would be hanging around a mess hall... Socializing?" He seemed confused at the very concept of it.

"That's something you'll have to get used to," Sharra replied lightly. "I may have replaced all the organic bits, but I started out as a simple, straightforward wolfen, and just like our simpler cousins, we tend to be _very_ social and form tight-knit groups." She grinned. "Do some more research on wolves, you'll see what I mean, and people are even more so."

Riley quirked his face and ears in many interesting expressions before saying, "Right, I see. I can't say that I ever exactly had much chance to do any 'socializing' before, myself..."

Sharra snorted lightly, his own studies probably picking out the more subtle nuances of disgust and anger in her expression and minor cues than most would notice. "Of course not, you were 'just a robot' after all, idiots. I swear, the self-centered nature of many species is among the most common cause for some of the worst behaviors. Why _not_ enslave this or that species? After all, they're not _us_!"

"Because it's not right?" Riley replied to the rhetorical question, shaking his head slowly and looking to the sky where a sliver of Hamilton's small moon hung. "It's hard to believe what some of the things people _do_ without thinking or listening... I don't get it."

"'Right' is a very malleable concept," Sharra replied. "As there are indeed species out there that engage in any number of things that the multiverse as a whole would find utterly reprehensible, but they, for reasons either religious, societal, or political, find them to be completely acceptable. The Mechanoids, for example." She smirked. "Are perfectly okay with a genocidal campaign against all biological lifeforms."

"Why would they want to do something like that?" Riley said, clearly puzzled. "I don't see any way a group could benefit from destroying another group that was not a direct threat to them..."

"There are a lot of reasons that various races have used throughout the ages to justify that kind of campaign," Sharra said. "But what it all boils down to is an intolerance for anything which is different than yourself. Humans have done quite a bit of it themselves, and they still have some of that mentality around, as you've seen."

"And I suppose that's what we're here for then," Riley replied. "To try to rectify some of that and help people who have been victimized by others like that?"

"Got it in one." Sharra smiled at him. "Now, my race may have been one of the most honorable around, and we haven't had any similar incidents for thousands of years since we first climbed out of the stoneage, but we're not the only ones out there who have that kind of mindset. Humanity has a few here and there, though sadly a far smaller percentage than could be hoped for."

"But then, helping people who need help is a noble thing to do, but isn't it merely treating the symptoms of a deeper, underlying problem without actually really solving it, then?"

"Indeed it is," Sharra agreed with a sigh. "Unfortunately, the disease itself is a far deeper and complex thing than can really be dealt with on a permanent basis. It's part of sentient nature, and the steps that would be required to instill an iron-clad adherence to the ideal would strip them of the capacity for free thought and will that make them unique."

"I see," Riley said, frowning a bit. "Like the programming that had prevented me from disobeying, rather than being able to choose to obey, or to disobey and suffer the consequences?"

"Exactly the same sort of thing." Sharra nodded. "And while it might make the subject conform to a specified ideal..." She shook her head. "It's far better to have people like me running around to deal with the problems that arise, otherwise the very freedom that makes it all worthwhile just doesn't exist."

"It seems a little self-contradictory," Riley said thoughtfully. "I know I certainly would have been happier to have been programmed to want to do what was asked of me, rather than being free to think what I wanted but not act on it. It makes me wonder how many there might be out there in a similar situation, though, who weren't allowed to even think otherwise... No, I think I understand what you're saying."

"I thought you might," Sharra replied quietly. "More often than not, those who have suffered at the hands of others understand the importance of liberty and freedom far more clearly than the people who go about their lives without a care in the world, taking it all for granted. It takes a special kind of mindset to take personal responsibility for the common good."

Riley nodded slightly. "So I see... Well, I will do what I can, for that sake. There is much to be done now, I imagine, to get this base up and running soon..."

"There's a lot to be done." Sharra nodded. "But most of it's administrative or of the 'hurry up and wait' variety." She chuckled. "The biggest part right now is getting the construction done, and finding appropriate applicants to settle into full Knight status. Understandably, a lot of the people coming in at the moment are Pages, so we're probably going to be a little strapped for personnel for a little while."

"I'd imagine so," Riley said. "I could help with the construction if need be, certainly. I am equipped with antigravity emitters and have a lifting strength of..." he trailed off with a smirk. "Right, I'm not an antigrav lifter, but I could still help!"

"If you like," Sharra replied, smiling a little. "Though it's certainly not required, it's not something that a future law enforcement officer needs any real experience with, though I have to say that I disagree a little with that... there's nothing quite like a community project to bring people together, to give them something that they can be proud of having helped make and want to see grow."

"Certainly," Riley said cheerfully. "I must say it's definitely a rather different feeling to be able to choose to do something or not for a change, and makes me feel a good deal better about helping out." He went to start off to see about assisting with the construction effort.

Sharra was glad to see the interest, especially after the unpleasant experiences that he'd had with humanity in the first place, and went along to lend a hand as well. Soon enough things would be settled, or she'd be sent off to do something else, but it was indeed an investment in time that she couldn't complain about.


End file.
